Legal News

Convicted Felons to Prez Bush: ?I Beg Your Pardon?

By Ashby Jones

Gerald Ford had former President Richard Nixon; Bill Clinton had billionaire financier Marc Rich. Now, as the days on his administration grow shorter and President Bush turns his attention to presidential pardons, it’s a question on the lips of the Beltway chattering classes: will he make a controversial get-outta-jail-free pick?

A recent ABC News story highlights the issue. According to the story, more than 2300 convicted felons applied for a presidential pardon in fiscal year 2008, which ended on Sept. 30.

So far, President Bush has used his pardon power sparingly — approving only 157 pardons. In addition, he has issued six commutations, one of which involved the name Scooter Libby (pictured). The number represents the lowest for all presidents since World War II, with the exception of G.H.W. Bush, who, during his four-year administration, pardoned only 74 individuals.

We might not know what President Bush will do on this front until early next year; many of the most controversial pardons are made on the eve of Inauguration Day. But the ABC News story ponders whether Bush would approve a “blanket, preemptive pardon of members” of his own administration, to immunize them from prosecution going forward.

A White House spokesman wouldn’t comment on the possibility of such a “blanket” pardon. But experts apparently think it’s unlikely given that you’d have to define in some way the activity the pardon is covering.

The Justice Department, which makes recommendations to the president about who should receive clemency, said it had not received applications from other high-profile convicts such as Jack Abramoff, Martha Stewart, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, or Libby himself. The president has the power to grant pardons or commutations on his own, even if felons have not applied through the Department of Justice.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on November 18, 2008 (boomark / email).